Impeccable Grooming
by CeceVolume
Summary: Based on a prompt I found on luciferprompts on Tumblr. Reveal AU. Chloe goes to pick up Trixie after an impromptu Maze and Lucifer babysitting day only to find her daughter grooming the self-proclaimed Devil's angel wings.


_This is a prompt from _luciferprompts_ on Tumblr._

_This is set after an alternate ending of 3x24 where Deckerstar doesn't have their confrontation with Pierce, but he's arrested for being the Sinnerman. I was actually wondering if Chloe would have taken it better if she had seen his angel wings instead of Devil Face._

IMMPECABLE GROOMING

Sighing as she stepped into the elevator, Detective Chloe Decker couldn't help wondering what in the world she had been thinking, leaving her daughter with Maze and Lucifer for any amount of time when they had each other to play off.

There hadn't been any frantic calls or random trips to the hospital—as far as she was made aware—but worry had still pressed heavily on her chest all day. Who knows what they would get into with a nine-year-old in tow or if they would even bother to bring her along!

"Oh, God," she breathed, not knowing which option would be worse.

Glancing between the buttons on the elevator and the floor display above it, she impatiently waited for the movement to stop and the doors to open. They'd said they were at the penthouse, but who was there with them? Was her daughter there too? God, if she hadn't been in such a bind with everything going on at work since Pierce's arrest for being the Sinnerman, she might have actually thought things through! Maybe she'd have called Linda or even Amenadiel, but Lucifer and Maze had been right there and it wasn't that big of a deal, just supposed to be a few hours….

The moment the elevator doors slid open, though, she heard something that brought an unholy mother's rage swirling within her. Her daughter was giggling, murmuring something unintelligible, Maze's low rumble following soon after.

And Lucifer was _moaning_.

What the _hell_ were they doing with her kid?!

Snatching her gun from its holster and holding it at ready position, she raced back into the bedroom, fury growing as the noises got louder. Whatever was happening in there, she would kill him and Maze without another thought. That was her _daughter_ and—

All thought fled as she took in the image. Lucifer laid on his belly on the bed, hands crossed beneath his face and thankfully fully dressed. Maze stood on one side of the bed with a handful of feathers that matched the ones in Trixie's hands on the other side.

Sprouting out of Lucifer's back, though, were two very _large_, pure white wings.

She caught herself on the banister behind her, dropping the gun with a loud clatter. All three sets of eyes immediately swung to her, holding all different emotions.

Trixie's was the easiest to place, even though Chloe's mind had become a never-ending litany of, "It's all true." She excitedly began spilling about her entire day with Lucifer—the _Devil_—and Maze—his _demon_ bodyguard.

"Mama, look! Maze and Lucifer are teaching me how to groom his wings!" she said in pure delight, pulling Chloe slightly from her inner turmoil to focus on her daughter. The young girl was so excited, her body was nearly vibrating as she gently stroked one. "You see, sometimes you gotta use this little comb to help realign the feathers you wanna keep; like birds, they've gotta be handled with care to make sure he can still fly! And you have to be really careful not to pull on them too hard; the old ones will come right out but he has to keep some of them! Oh, and his wings are really sensitive but strong. He says he used to use them as a shield back before his Father kicked him out! Aren't they beautiful?!"

The mentioned appendages flexed as Trixie turned back to them, gently taking the membrane into her right hand so she could continue her _grooming_ with her left. Chloe's eyes went to Lucifer's shocked ones, noting that he was completely still as she stared agape at him.

For a moment, she thought she saw true fear there, but she couldn't process it before turning to Maze, who looked ready to fight her, depending on what she was about to say.

It took a few silent breaths to steady herself enough to not stutter too much. "Th-that's great, monkey. But we have to go; Lucifer and Maze have already helped us a lot today." _Get out of here, let it all sink in. This is _Lucifer_._

Trixie must have heard the desperation in her mother's voice because she didn't argue, just gently put the wing down—a wing that was attached to a _human_—and said, "Thank you for teaching me!" to her two friends, who looked back at her with small smiles. "Maybe I can come over tomorrow and help some more?" she asked hopefully, looking between the adults in the room.

Not knowing if she would have her mind wrapped around what she'd discovered, Chloe answered, "We'll see. It's really up to Lucifer since they're his…wings."

Without missing a beat, Trixie turned to the man in question, hands folded together like she was praying. "Oh, please, please, please, can I? I'll be super gentle and listen to Maze and make sure they're super groomed!"

His eyes still locked on Chloe, Lucifer slowly retracted his wings to sit up fully, gently placing one hand on the child's hair. "I suppose so, urchin," he said quietly, never taking his gaze from her mother's. "We'll have to find a later date that works for the detective."

With a squeal of delight, Trixie threw herself at Lucifer, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Planting a loud, sloppy kiss on his cheek, the young girl was able to draw his attention away from Chloe. "You're the best, Lucifer!"

Chloe's heart sped up as her daughter raced over to her, realizing that she had thought the same thing up until the moment she'd seen those wings. Well, maybe not the _best_, but certainly not the _worst_.

How much of who he was around her was true? Was the Prince of Darkness playing games with her—with her _child_?

She hustled Trixie out of the room but didn't follow, frozen with her back to the man who had plagued her mind for years. She had _kissed _him, tried to start a _relationship_ with him. And he was the embodiment of evil, of all the bad in the world. Oh, God, he tortured people for _eternity._

"Detective, I—"

Turning her head to look over her shoulder at him, she cut him off. "Lucifer, I need…can I just have a day? To…to…process what I just saw?" she begged. "I swear we can talk tomorrow, but…I need to go, have some space."

His head tilted as he studied her, a lock of pitch-black hair falling out of it's perfect 'do only for him to shove his fingers through it. Those dark brown eyes searched her, looking for something—she couldn't dwell on it now but she also couldn't let it go. She waited for his slow, heartbreaking nod before she left, wondering what the hell she was going to do now.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Lucifer, I know you didn't—"

The Devil in question tossed back a healthy dose of whiskey, wishing that he didn't have to drink so bloody much just to get a buzz going. "Maze, stop!" he shouted, furious with himself and her, though he knew he had only himself to blame. If she hadn't convinced him to let Chloe's offspring help her groom him, he wouldn't have just lost the detective—potentially forever.

Slamming the low ball on the bar top hard enough to shatter it, he turned on his right-hand demon, snarling, "If you had just left well-enough alone—"

Fury erupted behind Maze's gaze. Shoving a finger in his direction, she hissed, "Don't you _dare_ blame me! Everyone has told you that it was only a matter of time before she found out and you were _so sure_ that you could keep it a secret! Better your damn angel wings than that face of yours that drives mortals insane!" Her knife thudded into the table with an ominous bang. "So don't blame _me_ that _you_ made the decision to let Trixie see them! In the end, _you_ made that happen, not _me_."

She jumped down from the edge of the table, striding towards the elevator with her middle finger raised high. "Call me when you're ready to apologize," she growled as the doors slid closed.

Snarling to himself, he turned back to his stash of glasses, pouring another shot of whiskey.

Though he would hate to admit it, Maze was right; he'd been the one to unfurl his wings. It had been so strange, though, and he honestly couldn't believe it himself. The child had been complaining of boredom, so Maze had said that they should groom his wings. He wanted to retort, but Trixie had jumped in with such enthusiasm that he'd been unable to say no.

The next thing he knew, his long-untended wings were _finally_ getting cleaned up, losing the itch that he could never quite reach. And then Chloe had shown up.

"Bollocks," he muttered, hands braced on the bar as his head dropped forward, shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn't even know who—other than himself, of course—to turn his anger to, to hoist the blame on. It truly was all his fault. He should have told her after he was kidnapped just as he had planned to before he'd gotten his wings back. How was he supposed to explain this to her?

She'd told him that she needed a day, but perhaps it was best he just left it alone. He could stop working cases, being who he really was once again. Why had he even bothered to try to be better? Getting close to her in the first place was bad enough; this would have happened either way. Would it have been better if he had stopped working cases after Delilah's?

He had never lied to her, no, but he had to admit to himself that his loophole of waiting until she asked him directly hadn't been fair to her. And if they'd hashed this out before, he would never have fallen in lo—

He stopped himself, knowing that once he acknowledged the words, that would open a can of worms he wasn't sure he could handle.

-.-.-.-.-.-

_I'm ready to talk, Lucifer,_ Chloe texted for the fourth night in a row. _Can we please talk about this? I want to talk to you face to face._

Even though she'd offered only twenty-four hours, ninety-six had passed since she'd seen him. Honestly, the look on his face as she left had made her think that he would follow her then and there. Instead, he'd been surprisingly quiet, and it worried her. Had he left before they could talk? Was he just going to leave her high and dry now that she knew?

Frustration assailed her. The last time something drastic had happened between them, he'd run away, marrying some other woman from Las Vegas. If he was just going to keep leaving her anyways, he shouldn't have started anything with her to begin with!

Now that she knew, she realized that relationship was doomed to fail, anyways. He was a hedonistic, brutally honest ass that seemed to take pleasure in shocking her. Even though he knew nobody believed him, he still insisted that he was the Devil because he wanted to get a rise out of anyone he came into contact with.

And yet…when she'd finally seen his wings, after years of being right there beside him everyday, he'd looked so broken, like she'd seen the worst of him. Like he was…disgusted with himself.

So why wasn't he there, helping her wrap her mind around what she'd seen? She had so many questions and no one to ask.

Did anyone else know? What parts of the stories were true? Had he lied to her?

She stopped herself there. Lucifer had always taken great pains to tell the truth, no matter what. He'd never hidden being the Devil, she just hadn't accepted it. He hadn't shown her his wings to give her proof, that was true, but could she blame him? Maybe he had just wanted her to take his word for it, to believe in him, _trust_ him.

Or maybe he hadn't really wanted her to know for sure.

Checking her phone, she saw that her message—like the others from the last few nights—was unread and wondered if she should really be making _him_ do the work. The only time Lucifer avoided her was when he was in a downward spiral.

With a sigh, Chloe knew that she had a choice to make: wait for him or go to him. If she waited, it meant she needed more time to process everything that had gone on. If she went to him…it meant he was really her partner, that she trusted him.

It only took her a minute to grab her coat and walk out the door.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask whoever you are to leave. The club is downstairs," Lucifer called out from the couch without bothering to turn around. As he had for several days, he was avoiding the people downstairs at Lux, preferring the solitude to mourn the life he'd dared to think he could have.

However, footsteps still fell, coming closer to him, making his hackles rise in warning. It could be an enemy meaning harm or another of his siblings taking the mantle Amenadiel had left behind. He'd bloody well like to see them try to force him back to Hell—

"You haven't answered any of my texts."

His head spun around to find Chloe watching him expectantly, as if she thought he might ask her to leave. But his heart had skipped a beat at the sight of her there, waiting for him, in some small way _accepting_ him.

Standing slowly, he fixed his cuffs, murmuring, "Well, I figured you needed time, so I gave you some. It took Linda two weeks to come to terms with my real face, so I thought—"

She lifted a hand, stopping him in his tracks when he would have strode to her. "_Linda_ knows? She's seen your wings?" _Is she…angry?_

With a low, humorless chuckle, he said, "No, no, no. I showed her my Devil Face. My wings were cut off then, and I'm sure she's glad for it." Shaking his head, he started towards her, taking every step slowly so as not to frighten her. Now that she knew, how could she not be terrified of him? "It's easier to…accept what I am when you are given the full picture, not just the fluffy bits."

"And what are you?" she asked as he got closer, her head raising so her eyes could still meet his. "What _exactly_ are you?"

He nearly stumbled at her words. She'd seen his wings, hadn't she? Or was this that denial thing Linda always went on about? "Well, I'm the Devil," he answered haltingly. "The monster you humans claim creates all sin."

For a long moment, they just looked at the other, each searching for answers to different questions. Though Lucifer desperately needed to know what was going on in her head, he had to give her time, give her a chance to decide what he held his breath to know.

"I don't think that's true," she murmured slowly, her beautiful green eyes still locked on his. When he opened his mouth—_I don't lie_—she held up her hand to stop him. "I understand you're the Devil, that everything you told me is true. But you're not a monster."

As she always seemed to do, she caught him off guard, unable to process the hope that rose within him. She didn't think he was a monster, despite seeing what he was capable of. But would she feel the same when his Devil Face returned? If she saw that, she would surely leave him, maybe even try to send him back to Hell.

What human in their right mind would want a monster for a partner?

When she took a step forward, he had to lock himself in place to keep from stepping back. The whole time she crossed the remaining distance between them, he had to force himself not to flee, wondering what could be happening in her mind. "Detective—"

"You're my partner," she interrupted, coming to a stop just in front of him. Her eyes stayed locked with his, holding him in place. "I know you, probably better than anyone else. You're not a monster; you're a man who's trying to be better, trying to do the right thing." Her hand reached up and cupped his cheek, that hope he'd been afraid to let grow blossoming from the touch. "I want you to know…it doesn't change anything between us. You're still _you_, as annoying as you may be."

A small smile crossed his features as he unknowingly leaned his face closer to her. "You don't know that for sure, Detective. You don't know what I've done."

She nodded, her other hand moving to cup his face. "I still have questions, but they can wait." She brought his forehead down to hers, both of them closing their eyes at the touch. "Right now, I want to make sure _you_ are okay."

He smiled, a genuine if somewhat sad look on his face, but didn't respond at first. He wanted to relish the moment, her acceptance of him; he didn't want it ruined by a deep dive into his psyche. She would never accept him then.

"I'm not sure," he admitted quietly, opening his eyes to look into hers. "But I'd love to answer any of your questions."

She must have known it was what he needed because she said, "Let's sit down."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Hours later, with an opened bottle of wine on the table in front of them, Chloe gave a small snort of laughter. "You put a _snake_ in the _Garden of Eden_ to freak out _Adam_?" she giggled. "I thought you were after Eve!"

He raised the glass to his lips, taking a short sip with a smile. "Well, she was easier to tempt, of course, but Adam was a self-important dolt. He was always prattling on and on about how Dad made him in His image and that everything should subjugate to him…. So, I sent a snake in to scare him. It's why he started wearing clothes, in fact. But he told Dad that Eve had taken a bite of the apple and that was that."

With her elbow on the back of the couch, she rested her temple on her fist, curling her legs beneath her. "But I thought the apple gave them knowledge?" she asked curiously, taking a drink of her own wine. "I thought Eve eating the apple was what made God so mad?"

"Hardly," Lucifer answered, rolling his eyes. "Why would dear old Dad make the tree if it gave information He didn't want known? My Father enjoys His mind games, but He certainly wasn't going to make it so easy for me to tempt his new pets."

Chloe grinned, downing the last of her glass as she watched him over the rim. "So why was He mad at Eve for eating the apple?"

He thought it over for a moment. "I used to believe it was because He wanted to control them like He did me, but now I think I've given Him too much credit," he answered softly, gulping the last of his wine before reaching for the bottle to refill their glasses. "Honestly, I think He might have just been looking for a reason that childbirth would hurt."

Luckily for his furniture, Chloe hadn't taken another sip when she sputtered, "Ex-excuse me?"

Lucifer's eyebrows came together as he studied her. "Childbirth was supposed to be Eve's punishment, right? But I think Dad just didn't want to admit to making a logistics mistake. If He really wanted humans to be fruitful and multiply, why would He make it so easy for you to die doing just that?"

She pondered that for a moment before nodding, realizing that she really hadn't thought much about it in her life but she'd still accepted it on faith. "I guess that makes sense. I mean, I know at least _one_ of His sons doesn't like to own up to a mistake."

Hand going to his chest in an offended move, Lucifer gasped, "I assure you, I am nothing like—"

"You didn't show me your wings when I asked you for proof," she pointed out. "Even before you got them back, if you'd given me _proof_—"

"I never lied to you!" he answered quickly.

She gave him a look that stopped him. "But you hid from me. I understand, in the beginning, but…we became _partners_. We could have already talked this through and gotten over it by now."

He blinked at her, shock evident on his face. "What do you mean 'gotten over it'?"

With a shrug, she admitted matter-of-factly, "Well, it's a shock to find out that the afterlife is definitely _real_. That would scare anyone." Her eyes raised to catch his. "But that doesn't change the fact that I _know_ you. You might be the Devil, but you're not evil." She reached her free hand out to capture his, giving it a squeeze. "You're capable of changing, of becoming better. I've seen it first hand."

He gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of something to say. His fingers tightened around hers, his dark eyes growing damp. "I…I…."

Giving his hand a quick, tight squeeze to stop him, she slowly let go, cupping her wine glass with both hands as she turned fully towards him on the cushions. "Anyways, I have one more question."

"Go on," he said, clearing his throat as his voice broke.

"How did Trixie do…grooming your wings?" she asked with a wide grin. "She's very excited to do it again, but if she made you uncomfortable…I mean, I know you aren't a huge fan of kids…."

He put up a hand to stop her. "Your offspring did an impeccable job, have no fear. Though I _did_ promise her she could keep one of the feathers, so next time I suppose she'll have to take two." As she laughed, he added, "The Devil never goes back on his deals, even if they are to sticky urchins."

"So…next time," she started, nervously looking away, "could I maybe…you know…help?"

Staring at her, he swallowed harshly, before chuckling, "I suppose so. Though what the big deal is with my wings, I will never understand."


End file.
